Investing.com - European stocks were mixed on Tuesday, supported by positive German factory orders data, although investors remained cautious amid ongoing uncertainty over the future of the Federal Reserve's bond-buying program.

Official data showed that German factory orders rose 3.8% in June, beating expectations for a 1% increase, after a 0.5% fall the previous month.

European stocks found support on Monday, after data showed that the euro zone's services purchasing managers' index rose to 49.8 in July, from a final reading of 48.3 in June, adding to signs of a recovery in the euro zone.

But markets were jittery after data on Monday showed that activity in the U.S. services sector expanded at the fastest rate in five months in July, adding to expectations for the Fed to soon scale back its stimulus program.

Elsewhere, Salzgitter dove 9.88% after the steelmaker said it expects a pretax loss of about EUR400 million euros this year, due to a slump in demand.

In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 fell 0.16%, weighed by losses in the mining sector, even as data showed that U.K. manufacturing production jumped 1.9% in June, blowing past expectations for a 0.9% increase.

Meanwhile, financial stocks remained mostly lower, as shares in Barclays slumped 0.74% and HSBC Holdings declined 0.43%, while Lloyds Banking plummeted 2.36%. The Royal Bank of Scotland overperformed on the other hand, adding 0.62%.

In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.18% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.14% slip, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.05% dip.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce data on the trade balance.

Investing.com - Investing.com offers an extensive set of professional tools for the financial markets. Read more News on Investing.com or Follow us on Twitter at @ InvestingCom